[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 67 (Monday, April 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18823-18825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7175]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No.: 40-8943]


Notice of License Amendment Request of Crow Butte Resources, 
Inc., Crawford, NE, and Opportunity To Request a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of license amendment, and opportunity to request a 
hearing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by June 6, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen J. Cohen, Project Manager, 
Uranium Recovery Licensing Branch, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State and Environmental 
Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC, 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-7182; fax number: (301) 415-5369; e-
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received, by 
letter dated November 27, 2007, a license amendment application from 
Crow Butte Resources, Inc. (CBR), requesting renewal of its source 
material license for its in situ leach (ISL) uranium recovery facility 
located in Crawford, Nebraska. License No. SUA-1534 authorizes the 
licensee to operate an ISL uranium recovery facility to produce 
yellowcake. Specifically, the amendment requests that NRC renew CBR's 
current license for a standard 10-year period.
    An NRC administrative review, documented in a letter to CBR dated 
March 28, 2008, found the application acceptable to begin a technical 
review. If the NRC approves the amendment, the

[[Page 18824]]

approval will be documented in an amendment to NRC License No.: SUA-
1534. However, before approving the proposed amendment, the NRC will 
need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and NRC's regulations. These findings will be 
documented in a Safety Evaluation Report and an Environmental 
Assessment.

II. Opportunity to Request a Hearing

    The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an 
application for a license amendment regarding renewal of Source 
Materials License No.: SUA-1534 issued to Crow Butte Resources for its 
ISL uranium recovery facility in Crawford, NE. Any person whose 
interest may be affected by this proceeding, and who desires to 
participate as a party, must file a request for a hearing and a 
specification of the contentions which the person seeks to have 
litigated in the hearing, in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, 
which the NRC promulgated in August, 2007, 72 FR 49139 (August 28, 
2007). The E-Filing rule requires participants to submit and serve 
documents over the internet or in some cases to mail copies on 
electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of 
their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
five (5) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a 
digital Identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant 
(or its counsel or representative) to digitally sign documents and 
access the E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is 
participating; and/or (2) creation of an electronic docket for the 
proceeding (even in instances in which the petitioner/requestor (or its 
counsel or representative) already holds an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate). Each petitioner/requestor will need to download the 
Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to access the Electronic Information 
Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The Workplace Forms 
Viewer\TM\ is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a 
digital ID certificate is available on NRC's public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit 
a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions 
should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC 
guidance available on the NRC public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be timely, an 
electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE system no later than 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to 
the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others 
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document 
via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or 
locally, (301) 415-4737.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting 
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such 
filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail addressed to the 
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited 
delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a 
document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all 
other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail 
as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service.
    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition 
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be 
admitted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). To be timely, filings must be submitted no later 
than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include social 
security numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are 
requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304(c)-
(e) must be met. If the NRC grants an electronic document exemption in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g)(3)), then the requirements for paper 
documents, set forth in 10 CFR 2.304(b) must be met.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b), a request for a hearing must be 
filed by June 6, 2008.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 
2.309, the general requirements involving a request for a hearing filed 
by a person other than an applicant must state:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requester;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding;
    3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial or 
other interest in the proceeding;
    4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(1), a request for hearing or 
petitions for

[[Page 18825]]

leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the contentions 
sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or petition must:
    1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted;
    2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;
    3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within 
the scope of the proceeding;
    4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material 
to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is 
involved in the proceeding;
    5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinions which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the 
issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support 
its position on the issue; and
    6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute 
exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. This 
information must include references to specific portions of the 
application (including the applicant's environmental report and safety 
report) that the requester/petitioner disputes and the supporting 
reasons for each dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner believes the 
application fails to contain information on a relevant matter as 
required by law, the identification of each failure and the supporting 
reasons for the requester's/petitioner's belief.
    In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions 
must be based on documents or other information available at the time 
the petition is to be filed, such as the application, supporting safety 
analysis report, environmental report or other supporting document 
filed by an applicant or licensee, or otherwise available to the 
petitioner. On issues arising under the National Environmental Policy 
Act, the requester/petitioner shall file contentions based on the 
applicant's environmental report. The requester/petitioner may amend 
those contentions or file new contentions if there are data or 
conclusions in the NRC draft, or final environmental impact statement, 
environmental assessment, or any supplements relating thereto, that 
differ significantly from the data or conclusions in the applicant's 
documents. Otherwise, contentions may be amended or new contentions 
filed after the initial filing only with leave of the presiding 
officer.
    Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha 
designation within one of the following groups:
    1. Technical--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Safety Evaluation Report for the 
proposed action.
    2. Environmental--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Environmental Report for the proposed 
action.
    3. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined 
above.
    If the requester/petitioner believes a contention raises issues 
that cannot be classified as primarily falling into one of these 
categories, the requester/petitioner must set forth the contention and 
supporting bases, in full, separately for each category into which the 
requester/petitioner asserts the contention belongs with a separate 
designation for that category.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring 
requesters/petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, 
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that 
wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner 
must do so, in accordance with the E-Filing rule, within ten days of 
the date the contention is filed, and designate a representative who 
shall have the authority to act for the requester/petitioner.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(g), a request for hearing and/or 
petition for leave to intervene may also address the selection of the 
hearing procedures, taking into account the provisions of 10 CFR 2.310.

III. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at 
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide 
Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for 
the documents related to this notice are: Request for License Renewal 
Transmittal Letter (ML073470645), License Renewal Application (combined 
technical and environmental reports), Part 1 (ML073480266), License 
Renewal Application (combined technical and environmental reports), 
Part 2 (ML073480267), and the acceptance review letter dated March 28, 
2008 (ML080720341). If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC 
Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737 or by email to [email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O 1 F21, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR 
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 31st day of March, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William vonTill,
Branch Chief, Uranium Recovery Licensing Branch, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State 
Materials and Environmental Management Programs.
 [FR Doc. E8-7175 Filed 4-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P